Daily
news - 25th October 2018

A letter from Public Health England to directors of public health provides an update on recent increases in the prices of buprenorphine tablets used in the treatment of heroin (and other opioid) dependence. Earlier hopes that prices might fall again are looking less likely to be realised and the impact on the medicines budget of local authorities and the services they commission is in many cases severe | PHE, UK

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will establish a duty for his Department to routinely monitor the potency of street cannabis; what assessment he has made of the implications for Government policy of the research by Kings College in (a) 2005, (b) 2008 and (c) 2016 on the potency of street cannabis; and if he will make a statement | They work for you, UK

There was an air of optimism amongst several MPs in Parliament’s Westminster Hall yesterday, October 23rd, when politicians came together to debate and discuss UK drug policy. MP for Inverclyde and member of the Scottish National Party, Ronnie Cowan, led the engaging and insightful debate | Volte Face, UK

Its no secret that pub numbers have been in decline for decades, but less clear is the role duty and tax policies may have played. Ahead of the 2018 budget, a number of industry-led campaigns have again been vying for the Chancellor's attention in calling for freezes on alcohol duties | Alcohol Policy UK, UK

Consolidates the lessons of the last five instalments of the free course on drug treatment research, exploring key studies on treatment in relation to safeguarding family and community from crime. A common theme was the contradictions involved in offering or imposing treatment centred on the patient’s welfare within a system which sees the patient essentially as a threat | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

This report provides an overview of results from the fourth wave of the Healthy Ireland Survey, an annual interviewer administered face-to-face survey commissioned by the Department of Health | Department of Health, Ireland

With the nation reeling from an epidemic of drug overdose deaths, President Trump signed legislation Wednesday that is aimed at helping people overcome addiction and preventing addictions before they start | npr, USA

In the wake of cannabis legalization, a team of scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC) and McGill University have delivered encouraging news for chronic pain sufferers by pinpointing the effective dose of marijuana plant extract cannabidiol (CBD) for safe pain relief without the typical "high" or euphoria produced by the THC | News Medical, USA

New research from ASPIRE2025, a University of Otago research theme, challenges tobacco companies' claims they are working towards a smoke-free world and suggests young people are vulnerable to tobacco companies' product innovations | News Medical, USA

Mindfulness has become popular in many settings, including in mental health treatment. Research shows that mindfulness-based treatments can be helpful for people experiencing substance use disorders | BASIS, USA

President Trump routinely boasts of unshackling the economy by cutting red tape. But one industry may be about to face an onslaught of regulations, as senior members of his administration discuss a crackdown on electronic cigarettes | Washington Examiner, USA

Western Australia could be on the verge of abandoning its decades-old "tough on drugs" attitude to illicit substance addiction after both sides of parliament backed a plan to examine the decriminalisation of drugs | Age, Australia

Most of us know that the cannabis plant produces compounds that react with the human body. That’s because we have our own system that makes similar compounds, cannabinoids, that have a wide range of actions from appetite control to immune function | Conversation, UK

The UK government has finally realised the value of cannabis as a medicine, but it must not ignore the medical potential of other Schedule 1 drugs, such as psilocybin, LSD and MDMA | Pharmaceutical Journal opinion, UK

A few years ago Transform suggested to a senior civil servant dealing with drugs legislation at the Home Office that they should stop using the phrase ‘drugs and alcohol’, and replace it with ‘alcohol and other drugs’. He looked aghast, and said he wouldn't even suggest such a thing to the Minister after the drubbing the alcohol industry Portman Group gave them over Minimum Unit Pricing | Transform blog, UK

On the Thursday of Reconciliation Week this year (June 2) the Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council South Australia (ADAC) received a letter from the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet | Croakey blog, Australia

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